(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to equipment and accessories which promote activities and games in aquatic settings, such as swimming pools, and to a construction Kit capable of configuring its component modules into a multitude of patterns.
(2) Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 AND 1.98
Summer camps, resorts, cruise lines, country clubs, day care centers, and other businesses, organizations, groups, and clubs enlist volunteers and employ professional staff who are expected to regularly create appealing schedules of interesting games, contests, and activities to entertain their guests. One of the most difficult challenges is to create stimulating activities that encourage inclusive participation of a group that may include members of varying age, gender or athletic ability. It is common that these organized activities include water related games or exercise programs conducted in a pool, lake, or other suitable aquatic setting. Currently, activity directors and coordinators are limited in the tools they have to perform their duties in an aquatic environment. The disclosed invention is directed to providing them with a multitude of patterns which will solve most of their pool-related problems and greatly enhance their productivity, and a Kit for constructing the patterns.
Most commercially available pool-related accessories are bulky, difficult to handle and store, and, worst of all, have only a single function. A pool tic-tac-toe board disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,318,307 to Bouchard et al. (FIGS. 6-7) fits in this category. Basketball backboards, volleyball nets, water polo goals, golf “greens”, and a variety of targets and nets, any of which are either free-standing alongside the pool, float in the pool, or are stretched across the pool from side to side, are other well known prime examples. While they promote aquatic activities, they tend to attract younger, stronger, more athletic participants. Those less skilled or gifted tend to be pushed aside, watch from the sidelines, or become too discouraged to participate at all. None of these accessories really fulfill the activity director's desire for full, all-inclusive participation.
Other types of smaller accessories, such as beach balls, noodles, pool horseshoes, water “Frisbees”, and underwater hoops are fun to use, but they too are limited to a single use and are difficult to transport and/or store. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,971,823 (Sanso) and 7,052,347 (Goldmeier).
The last generic category of pool accessories are floatation devices. Chairs, rafts, and simulated animals or toys are usually inflatable but are also made from foam and foam bars. Again, they are limited to a single use and are difficult to transport and/or store. Representative are the devices shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,120,253 (Gelardi), 5,833,511 (Outman), and 6,843,695 (Jackson et al.).
The concept of a plurality of patterns which can be easily configured for a concomitant plurality of distinctly different aquatic activities is sadly missing from the prior art. There exists a strong need for an activity director and the staff to be able to provide a large number of different patterns for a like number of games, exercises, and activities. A modular pattern-making Kit having the capacity to create those patterns is equally needed.
It is not enough to provide just a pattern-making Kit, however. It must meet a long list of criteria unavailable in the prior art. It must be buoyant so that the game patterns can float. It must be easy to assemble, easy to disassemble and store, and easy to reconfigured into other activity formations. And, at the same time, the connections between modular components must be rugged enough to maintain the pattern's structural integrity during active use by children and adults. Any Kit capable of forming such an array of floating boundaries and formations in and around a swimming pool provides an incomparable level of capability and versatility for organizing innovative group activities, as compared to the options available to the same group that does not have access to such a buoyant, modular pattern-making Kit. The instant invention fulfills that need.
The broad concept of a construction Kit for assembling various structures, simulations, and two- or three-dimensional, geometric frameworks are known, mainly for use by children. Not only do the known children's Kits not meet the definition of “adult-sized,” the trend has been to make them easier to assemble and disassemble, so that they are within the child's capabilities to use the Kit. Representative are the U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,947,527 (Hennig), 5,098,328 (Beerens), 5,120,253 (Gelardi), 5,839,938 (Manthei et al.), 5,928,051 and 5,964,635 (Krog), 6,050,873 (Reisman), and 7,063,587 (Lin). Most do not meet any of the criteria needed for the inventive patterns; none meet them all.